She feyned hire as that she moste gon
Ther as ye woot that every wight moot neede;
And whan she of this bille hath taken heede,
She rente it al to cloutes atte laste,
And in the pryvee softely it caste.
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Merchant’s Tale. May excuses herself from January and pretends to go to the toilet. There she reads Damian’s love letter expressing his strong lustful desire for her. After taking it in she tears it into pieces and throws it into the toilet, so as not to be discovered. January moves another step closer to being cuckolded by his new young wife.